Valletta - Two German birdwatchers were showered with lead pellets in Malta Wednesday after a hunter took aim in their direction, apparently aiming at quail a short distance away. The hunter, who was 100 metres away when he fired the shot, insisted during police questioning that he had hit them accidentally and apologised profusely.
The birdwatchers - Thomas Hellwig and Enrico Hubermeier, from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter - were on a public road with their backs to the hunter when they heard a gunshot behind them and felt the hot lead pellets searing their forearms.
They turned back and saw a hunter with his gun raised, walking in their direction. Hellwig instinctively took a couple of photos and fled with his partner, before reporting the case to the police.
They suffered only light arm injuries on their arms but were convinced they had been deliberately targeted, local media reports said.
The volunteers have been met with abuse since they started their visit on Saturday in an island synonymous with illegal bird hunting.
The local hunters federation described the foreign birdwatchers as a group of German extremists and warned its members to beware foreigners who were in Malta to spy on them.
